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Winter 2004

Written by Dale, December 20th, 2004

HOUSES & SIGNS

by Dale Michael Martin

Before we begin the study of the stars, there is one very important point that needs to be understood. The astrological chart is make up of two wheels, a bottom stationary wheel and an upper movable wheel. The bottom wheel designates the twelve houses. These twelve houses make up the astrological chart, whether natal (birth chart), progressed (your snapshot at a certain time in your life), or a horary chart (a chart that allows us to predict events in the present or future. The upper chart, containing the astrological signs, rotates clockwise every 4 minutes changing the house cusps, or division lines between each house, by one full degree. Consequently, birthtime becomes very important. We can have 360 individuals that are born 4 minutes apart on the exact same day and have 360 entirely different and unique individuals with different interpretations. Birth time deposits the various planets and signs in the appropriate houses. It is also important to understand that all charts are made up of the twelve houses and the twelve astrological signs. We all have the energy of Taurus or Libra or Pisces, etc., somewhere in our natal chart. What makes us unique is the house and/or planets and degrees of the planets and houses that they are deposited. With this in mind and not going any farther because of the complexity of astrology, we start are analysis of the stars.

TAURUS & THE 2ND HOUSE

Whenever we ask someone their astrological sign they will give it with where the Sun was at the time of their birth. The Sun is the strongest planet in our solar system and depicts how are spirit projects itself into our physical world. It also signifies our strongest ego tendency. So when we speak of Taurus we are talking about the Sun sign. Be aware that all of the planets in our solar system, at sometime, will travel through the sign of Taurus as well as the other twelve signs.
Taurus is the second sign of the zodiac as well as the ruler of the second house and falls on the days between April 21st and May 21st.

Psychological Attributes of the Taurean. Taurus is the first of the earth signs and is the first of the fixed signs or serpent signs which represents the coiled up energy latent, not fully developed. Taurus is a doer, and experiencer. Unlike Aries which is an aggressive sign, the Taurean is noted for their patience. They are slow moving, steady, and seldom make a spur of the moment decision regarding any major commitments in time or money. They are not to be pushed. It takes time for them to digest new ideas. They can be stubborn but can be counted on to finish any project once they start regardless of the duration. They are slow to anger, but when they are know that you’ve went to far and be prepared for the charging bull. Since Taurus rules the 2nd house, money and possessions are very important to the Taurus, especially their home. Depression can be a psychological disease for the Taurean.

Physical Attributes of the Taurus. The neck and the throat are the body parts associated with the sign of Taurus. The male Taurean will tend to have a stocky and short neck. His body, likewise, will be physically strong. Like the bull, he will be noted for his strength and endurance. The female Taurean, on the other hand, will have an air of elegance. Since Venus rules her sign, she will walk with grace, charm, and beauty. She will be decked out in the finest clothing and her jewelry will be authentic stones with an emphasis on green (Emerald) and blues. Fine pearls will grace her throat.

Careers for the Taurean. Since Taurus is noted for their possessions and drive to acquire money, their careers will lean toward those same areas. Taurus is “the builder” so a career in construction, architecture, or real estate would fire the bull’s passion. Careers in banking, the stock market, accounting or bookkeeping, would delight their creative enterprise. Teaching positions where Taurus could use their mathematical acumen and their ability to memorize numbers would be another avenue. Since Taurus rules the throat, careers in theater, singing, and radio could also be an option.

Relationships for the Taurus. Scorpio is the opposite sign of the Taurus person. There will be a natural attraction since Scorpio has the qualities that complete the Taurean and vice versa. However, any of the earth signs (Taurus, Virgo, & Capricorn) could be a suitable mate for the bull. Earth signs have that natural groundedness and practicality that the Taurus is looking for. The suitable mate must like the outdoors and the finer things in life since Taurus is drawn to quality and expensive items, naturally. Nothing too extreme. Everything practical and useful. When romancing the Taurus, overwhelm their five senses and know that you made a good impression even if your jokes were bad. Good food, good wine. Be careful not to overdue the cologne or perfume as their noses are extremely sensitive. Make the music soft and sensual. For a gift, give a massage as Taurus people love to be touched.

Other attributes of Taurus. Taurus is the first feminine sign of the zodiac. They vibrate best to rose quartz as a stone or any other stone that has blue, the color of their ruling planet, Venus. Their herb is sage and their essential oil is patchouli. The phrase that they most identify with, since they have a natural love of money, is “I have.” Living our Second House Tendencies. Regardless of our Sun Sign, we all have a second house in our natal or birth chart. The second house is the first succeedent houses, the first of the Trinity of Wealth, or temporal or possessive signs. The succeedent houses designate where are individual desires or emotional needs are tied into. The Trinity of Wealth houses are associated with the earth signs of Taurus, Virgo, and Capricorn. This is how we acquire or spend our money and what type of possessions we acquire. The second house deals with the things in life that we feel have value for us. This is where we find our emotional security. It can also denote the things that we have an obligation toward. It signifies the type of material possessions we have, how we acquire them, how and what we spend what we deem as valuable to us. This depends on the ruling sign of our own individual natal charts and whether or not there are any planets deposited in the second house and whether, too, we have harmonious or challenging energy coming off the planets. The second house tells us where we are stiff and unyielding, where we need to be patient and persevering. The second house asks us to strive toward graciousness and elegance, higher forms of human behavior. It asks us to spend our value on others, in essence, to learn to share our holdings with others and learn to tithe back to the universe.
This house also deals with the various forms of depression.

This is the final part of a two part series. Trees for Life graciously gave us permission to reprint the following article. We wish to thank them for their kindness and their effort to empower and unite the peoples of the world. You may stop by the store and pick up a copy of the booklet if you want the complete story or you can stop by the Trees for Life office at 3006 W. St. Louis, Wichita, Kansas 67203-5129. You may call their office @ (316)945-6929. Ask for David Kimball. You may also send your tax deductible donations there.

Dancing with a Dusty Angel
By Manaswi Sahu

Manaswi Sahu grew up in the remote village of Mulbar in the state of Orissa, India. He was one of the few people in his village who was able to receive an education and break out of the vicious cycle of poverty. As a result, he and his two brothers moved to Sambalpur, a city 47 miles from his village. There his brother Rushi and he started a pharmacy. Their younger brother Saheb became a physician and moved to the United States.
These three brothers never forgot their roots, and continued to help their village. Manaswi Sahu witnessed how the people of his village took a leap of faith, picked themselves up by their bootstraps and transformed their lives. Mr. Sahu and his wife live in Sambalpur, Orissa, along with his brother Rushi and his family.

The stranger
It was a grueling summer afternoon in May 1988 when a jeep drove into Mulbar village. Two men dismounted at the edge of the village and walked to the village square. Soon some village men started to drift in to meet the strangers. They saw a man dressed in white Indian clothes, and another, much younger in age, dressed in western clothes. Both were covered with dust from head to toe.
The man dressed in white Indian clothes said his name was Balbir Mathur. Years ago he had immigrated to the United States, where he now lived with his family. He was part of a movement called Trees for Life that was helping people in villages like ours to plant fruit trees. My younger brother who lived in the United States was a friend of his, and had told him about our village. He had come to meet with the people. He and his young friend had traveled that day from Bhubaneswar, which was 240 miles away. That explained why they were covered with dust.

Mr. Mathur told the villagers that his great-grandparents had come from a village similar to ours. He had heard stories from his grandmother about how poor their family was. However, his grandfather and his father were able to climb out of poverty. As a result, he was able to go to America. There he had spent the last thirty years discovering the formula for what makes people powerful and prosperous and what makes people powerless and poor.
He knew that many people must have helped his grandfather break out of poverty. He was now repaying the debt incurred by his ancestors by sharing the formula with anyone who wanted to know. That was what brought him to our village.

The assembled villagers asked Mr. Mathur to share that formula with them. He told them that self-confidence and self-help were the keys. They must not depend upon the government or anyone else to come and help them. He advised them to start the process of self-help by planting fruit trees.

The people who gathered around him that day in the village marveled at his sincerity of purpose. They could hardly believe that he had come all the way from America to their village to share this message with them. The informal way he talked and behaved with them, the lack of grandeur of his visit, and above all his humane approach gained their confidence. In that very first meeting, they agreed to follow his plan. A committee of seven volunteers was formed to determine how many fruit trees the villagers required. Mr. Mathur assured them that their requirement would be supplied free of cost to them.

On his way back from the village, Mr. Mathur came and met me in Sambalpur where my brother and I ran the pharmacy. He entrusted me with the task of working with the village committee and acquiring the saplings for them. Being a native of that village, I took the task as a divine blessing.

From that day onward our village had a holy association with Trees for Life. In our language we call such a holy association “Sat Shang.”

The work starts
Within a few weeks Mr. Mathur was back in Sambalpur again. This time I arranged for several of my friends to meet with him. Like the villagers, they also took a great liking to him, and a core group of Trees for Life volunteers was formed in my living room. It included a businessman, a banker, an ecologist, a college professor and myself.

Our team procured 2,000 saplings of the finest quality mango, coconut, jackfruit, guava, papaya, and lemon trees. We worked with the village committee to provide training on how to plant and care for the saplings to assure survival. A religious ceremony was held to seek God’s blessings on this new initiative. The villagers planted these “holy trees” with great enthusiasm.

After the planting of the trees, a nursery was established in Mulbar to supply saplings to other villages. In the following year, the work spread to two other villages. By the third year the fruit tree planting work had spread to some 300 villages. Along with the tree planting, many other projects were begun.

Trees for Life volunteers came to our village from other parts of India, the United States, the UK, and European countries. These volunteers were experts in various fields, such as agriculture, horticulture, soil conservation, irrigation, organic manure, rural development, education, community service, forestry, herbal medicines, photography and tailoring.
Through interacting with these visitors, people in our village overcame their inferiority complex and gained self-confidence. They learned of the urgent needs to protect our environment, adopt modern agricultural practices, educate girls, and conserve soil. They also learned about family planning, vitamin deficiencies and health and sanitation in general.

Trees such as lime, papaya, guava and moringa were planted in family backyards to meet vitamin and mineral deficiencies. Efficient cooking stoves were installed in many homes to save wood and prevent women from inhaling smoke while cooking over open fires.

Water comes to our village
During one of Mr. Mathur’s interactions with the villagers, a delegation of women pointed out the urgent need for water for irrigation. Trees for Life volunteers went into action.
Government agencies had certified that there was no more ground water in the region. A retired professor of geology from the adjoining state was invited to make an independent survey. He brought a team of experts who identified eight possible well-digging sites in our village.
The villagers contributed towards the cost of conducting this survey.
Still, digging a well was a major risk. What if the water was not found? The debt incurred by a failed digging attempt could literally ruin
a villager. Harihar Sahu, a farmer, took that risk. He borrowed money from the bank and drilled a well on his property. Water gushed profusely, and the villagers cheered. It was a huge blow to the myth that there was no underground water in that entire area.
Trees for Life made arrangements for Harihar to receive fifteen days of training at the Government Agricultural Center in another town. There he learned improved agricultural practices. Trees for Life supplied him with an improved variety of banana and other fruit tree saplings to start a plantation. Within one year, Harihar was able to pay off the $1,500 that he had borrowed for his water well. Not only that, but he had also earned enough money to buy the land adjoining his farm. This success of Harihar sparked the imagination of all the villagers. They now became confident that they could also improve their lot.

The current situation in Mulbar
As of the end of the year 2000, there are 25 wells irrigating our fields. People are now harvesting two crops of rice per year, plus sugarcane, bananas, oil seeds and vegetables. In places that were dry, barren land only a few years ago, large stretches of sugarcane and rice fields appear. The planting of fruit and forest trees has become a credo with the villagers. Lemon, mango, jackfruit, moringa and other trees provide nourishment and income for the farmers. Now every able-bodied person can
work year-round.
The work culture of the entire population has changed. Farm labor is actually scarce during the harvesting seasons. Farm hands are paid more than the wage fixed by the government. The living conditions of everyone in the village have improved. There are now two tractors, one jeep, 32 motorcycles and uncounted bicycles in the village.
People now live in better houses, are able to acquire health care and education for their children and to eat and dress well. Seventeen families in the village have telephone connections, and many more are in line to receive one. Harihar Sahu, who pioneered the economic boom, is the most prosperous of them all.
In 1990, two years after Mr. Mathur’s arrival, the villagers started to build a high school. Today the schools in Mulbar provide excellent education to more than 200 students. Children are learning to use computers, and all students learn how to type. The high school has more girls than boys. There is even a girls’ dormitory so that girls from other villages can attend the school.
My brother Saheb and Rotary International helped the villagers start a medical clinic only four miles from the village. Mobile teams consisting of doctors and nurses from this clinic, visit fourteen nearby villages regularly. They visit our village twice a month.
More important than the material gains, the villagers’ attitudes of community living and community service have changed radically. There is not a single case of litigation concerning the villagers in any court of law. Through their own contributions and labor, they have constructed a new primary school building. Regardless of their differences, they have learned to stand solidly behind their spokespersons representing their grievances before government officials. Because of their unity they have convinced the government to construct a paved road to the village, and to build a bridge over the river that used to cut us off from the rest of the world during the rainy season. Now we are connected to the world year-round.
Tens of thousands of forest trees have been planted near our village. The barren lands are rejuvenating. The villagers have decided that in their next community project they will provide drinking water connections to every household.

The village temple
Ultimately, the story of any people is not told in their material development. The real story is in their spiritual progress. In the center of each village and town in our state is a temple – the center of all our activities. Because of religious tradition, these temples are open only to people of the Hindu faith. No foreigner or person of any other faith is ever allowed to enter. Untouchables (who are now called “Scheduled Castes”) are not allowed either, even though they belong to the Hindu religion. While women are the most frequent worshipers at the temples, they never have any formal role in conducting religious ceremonies.
In the year 2000, the villagers in Mulbar decided to upgrade their temple. They demolished the centuries-old mud-walled temple to replace it with a temple built of bricks. In February 2001, the foundation-laying ceremony was held. This time was chosen to coincide with Mr. Mathur’s visit to the village.
The ceremony started with a declaration that the new temple would be open to all. Twenty-one persons laid the ceremonial foundation stones. Among them were women, foreigners (including non-Hindus), and people of Scheduled Castes. This fact may not seem dramatic, but for these people who had lived in a closed, backward society for centuries, the simple act of women, foreigners and untouchables joining hands to lay foundation stones for the temple was an earth-shaking event.
The people of this remote village were symbolically declaring that they had broken the shell that had calcified over them during the past centuries. A dawn of hope was illuminating the centuries-old darkness of helplessness. It was a declaration of their metamorphosis.
The villagers achieved all this within the brief period of ten years. They did it all through their own efforts. But they do not take the credit for it. They attribute these achievements to their holy association, or Sat Shang, with Trees for Life.
In their first meeting with Mr. Mathur they had shouted in unison, “Ami Korbo!” – “We shall overcome!” They kept the promise they had made to a dust-covered angel.

HOW TO SAVE MONEY AT WHITE DOVE
For those of you who don’t know it , and that will be most of our readers, we give a 10% discount for anyone who brings in a can or box of food at purchase time on any retail item in the store. We in turn donate it to a food bank or homeless shelter. We firmly feel that we are our brothers keeper and realize that action speaks louder than words. So please eep this in mind the next time you come in our store especially when you want to buy several items that you will need. A $.50 can of food can save you several dollars. We feel it’s a win-win-win situation for everyone - you save money on your purchase, we make a sale, and someone doesn’t go to bed hungry.

7 TIPS FOR AWAKENING YOUR INNER PSYCHIC
by Cynthia Killion

TIP #1: Spend Time in Nature
One of the fastest ways to awaken your psychic senses is to spend time in nature. Luckily, fall is a fabulous time to do just that. Walk silently down a nature trail, through a grove of trees, or near the river. As you do, close your eyes for a moment and see if you can sense the difference between one place along your path and another. Breathe slowly and deeply, drawing in natural energy with each breathe. Let your psychic senses open up.
If it helps, imagine a flower or a ray of light bursting out from your heart and the middle of your forehead. Feel this light connecting with the plants, rocks, water and air all around you. Feel yourself as a powerful part of the natural world. Let your awareness come alive.
See if you can sense any non-physical beings with you--devas, sprites, fairies, elves or any of the other beautiful creatures that occupy natural places. If you feel threatened or afraid at any time, just mentally throw up a wall of white light all around you. Feel the Guardian Angels there with you. Know that they are helping you to open your psychic abilities in a way that is perfectly right for you.
It may help to say, “I open to a higher awareness now”, or “I am willing to accept my psychic gifts now.” As you say this, feel the energy of all the elements, plants, and animals rushing to assist you. Feel the Angels & the Nature Spirits assisting you in your psychic evolution.
When you are done with your nature meditation for the day, give thanks. Continue to notice the natural world as you go about your day. Say “hello” to the flowers that you pass. Try to “tune in” to the feelings of trees that you see. Each morning when you step out for the day, take a minute to just pay attention to the natural environment. Ask yourself what the energies feel like in the world around you. Listen. Pay attention. Open to your Inner Psychic.
Cynthia Killion is a metaphysical author & “spiritual midwife” who uses psychic abilities, intuition, astrology, and numerology to help people. T learn more about developing your psychic abilities, pick up a copy of her book The Little Book of Psychic Powers at White Dove. For information about Cynthia’s consultations, please call (316)652-8970 or e-mail cynthiakillion@yahoo.com. Thank You!

Prayer/Meditation for World Peace
On Wednesday, December 31st, the 17th annual prayer/meditation will be held at InterFaithMinistries, 901 N. Market, Wichita, Kansas. People all over the world will stop at the same time to bring healing vibrations to the world. Even if you cannot make it to the 5:45 AM gathering, do so in your home.

SACRED DANCE
by Dona Baba (continued from last issue)

I did return home to Wichita, Kansas. I was lonely for home and family. My mother had passed away during my stay in New York, and I missed my father greatly. I would sit in front of the television at Mary Ann’s house with several of her five, home-schooled children, who were only allowed to watch TV for one hour per day, and watch Little House on the Prairie, and cry. The kids were glad to watch it with me because after watching they’re one-hour of television, which was on the Discovery Channel, they got to watch an additional hour with me, my Little House on the Prairie show. By this time I was living at Mary Ann’s house in Westwood, New Jersey. As a part of my apprenticeship training, I tended the herb garden. She taught me how to pick and dry herbs, and prepare herbal medicinals. I remember weeding the herb garden in front of the house one day, she was so pleased. She was on exceptional woman with exceptional credentials, but lived a very different lifestyle, and raised her kids accordingly. In my apprenticeship intensive, I also tended the regular garden, picked foods for dinner, made salads out of plants, looked after the kids, and learned other homemaker skills. I also attended prenatal visits with home-birth clients, and learned how to determine the size and fetal position or lie, of a baby in-utero by hands on palpation. I got pretty good at it too. I can determine the weight of a baby, usually within a few ounces. It’s very interesting to be in touch with that inner world and learn to connect with, and “listen,” to the baby. I was well on my way to becoming a midwife when I declined a permanent position at the birthing center where I worked in New York City in order to return home to Wichita in 1988. After returning to Wichita, I knew that I wanted to pursue midwifery instead of dance. I began apprenticing with Brenda Welsh, a Kansas Midwife. Kansas was a much more “open” state to Midwives, and it was refreshing to be here. Kansas eventually set the standard with a Supreme Court decision in favor of midwifery in 1996. I continued to dance through entertainment agencies and performed at special occasion events whenever I was asked. I think the first performance that I did was to dance at an International Peace and Cultural Fair at the Mid-America All Indian Center shortly after returning home. I also performed at the Unitarian Church, The Global Learning Center, and became involved in the “International Rainbow Festival,” which was a River Festival event. I performed at the Crown Uptown Dinner Theater, The University Club, and Mary Jane Teal Theater. I counted all of my job sheets for two years and it totaled out to about 175 performances. I throw them away thinking that I didn’t need that information anymore. Now, I wish I would have kept documentation of those performances. But, it wasn’t until about 1993 that I really began to really take my dance seriously again. It began one evening after returning to a friend’s house after a rough evening out. (I saw my lover with another woman dancing at a nightclub. It was a real drag. Upon returning to Margery’s house, I picked up an old candelabra which belonged to her grandfather. I was in the room alone, and I put it on my head. It seemed to fit and I began dancing to a tape which she was playing that had a distinct ethnic drum beat. I picked up some of her jewelry from Peru which she had brought back from her travels and it had a very ancient feel. I went over and looked in the mirror, and put the necklace around my neck. I went through some kind of a transition. I felt like I was back in an ancient temple somewhere going through a rite of passage. I could feel my sisters surrounding me. There were about five women including myself, and I was in the middle. I could almost see them with my visual eyes and I could feel their presence, and “see” them with my internal eyes. this was my initiation into sacred temple dancing. From then on I began dancing with the candelabra. Whenever I would go over to Margery’s house, I would put the candelabra on my head and dance with it, or just walk around and get the feel of it on my head. Sometimes I would take it home and practice with it. I remember Margery just watching me for hours on end as I would practice with the candelabra, which she so graciously allowed me to use. I had known about the candelabra dance for many years from my dance training in New York. I had rarely, but on occasion seen a dancer dance with the lit candelabra balanced on her head. I had searched previously for a candelabra which would fit, but never found one. When I would put the candelabra on me head, when lit, it seemed to channel the energy flow up my spinal column, like it lifted my energies to a higher level. I had a distinct feeling of lightness. It sharpened my intuition and cleared my consciousness. I felt like I was being initiated into sacred temple dancing. The candelabra dance consists of balancing a lit candelabra on the head while performing the dance. Like the movements of the dance, no one really know where or when it originated, because it so ancient, this information had been lost and forgotten. Some people think it dates back to Atlantis and came through Ancient Egypt to the Middle East. Other’s feel that it was part of an ancient matriarchal culture. I think both are true. It is apparent to me that the dance was designed by a high culture who had a very distinct knowledge of the female body as well as the physic. The knowledge that devised the dance is similar in nature to that which developed Ayurvedic medicine, which originates in East India,, and also has their own well known history of sacred temple dancing. they both incorporate knowledge of the chakra system. The movements of the dance are based on a series of isolations, which work specific muscle systems in relation to the chakras and they help bala
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